DARPA Urban Challenge – No Prize For You November 22, 2006

I didn’t realize it when I wrote the Grand Challenge post, but since it worked so well, DARPA is not planning to offer a prize this time. Instead they have funded 11 teams with $1 million each. Thanks guys. Way to minimize the use of our tax dollars. I thought DARPA was supposed to be the brainy part of our government.

The bill that changed the rules was H.R. 5122 signed on into law on October 17, 2006. It moved the authority to issue prize money to the Director of Defense Research & Engineering which DARPA is under. That effectively means DARPA has to request the money from their boss. They could still do that, but lots of teams have already dropped out due a lack of motivation. The big teams have already been funded. Its already messed up.